I write about the fashion side of the sports industry, from sweatbands to cufflinks. I got my start with sports writing at the University of Arizona, where I was a sports editor and editor in chief for the Arizona Daily Wildcat. Shaq once questioned the validity of my age. Rob Gronkowski and I once ate hot dogs together at midnight. I spent a day on the golf course with Richard Jefferson discussing the Kardashians. I’m also busy analyzing digital ads for the Forbes Advertising Operations team. Follow me on Twitter at @LanceMadden.

But when Jordyn Wieber, Aly Raisman, Gabby Douglas, Kyla Ross and McKayla Maroney stepped up to the podium to receive their much-deserved gold medals, we were not greeted with our country’s red, white and blue. Instead we saw a dull gray.

Betsy Ross would roll over in her grave.

The gray jackets — worn by most USA teams at the podium this year, including USA swimmers — say UNITED STATES OF AMERICA on the back, and have a US patch on the chest and left shoulder. But do these things really scream, “We are the USA and we’re really proud to be Americans?” Not so much.

The same jacket can be yours for a pricetag of $450 in the official Team USA shop online. On this page, Nike has tried its best to defend the gray hue of the polyester jacket:

There’s absolutely no way your USA pride will go unnoticed; in addition to a Team USA patch on the chest, an Ol’ Glory patch on the left sleeve, and “The United States of America” cut out of the back with precision layers, this jacket is equipped with a hyper-reflective exterior. It catches even the dimmest light source and reflects it back with a bright flash. It’s the ultimate gear for USA athletes and their devoted fans!

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The USOC has completely sold out for money. NIKE is being represented on the medal stand, not the USA. These athletes look identical to Nike’s professionally sponsored track athletes. The grey and neon green are the same colors that Nike chose this year for its pro athletes. They need to cut the shit and stop saying it’s for the “glow” and to look “futuristic”; it is clearly to keep with the Nike Theme of 2012. Nike is worried about sells not about what is appropriate for this formal ceremony; they are “modeled after a sportswear staple” (NikeInc.com). I have never seen podium jackets that are windbreakers with a hoody; these are so commercial it is disgusting! And now they have rolled up jeans on the podium…. Are you kidding? Nike is making a mockery of the Olympic Games and shame on the USOC for allowing it. Guess the old red, white, and blue is not “futuristic” enough and a boring cliché. Hopefully they get it right with the 2016 Nike sponsorship.

I agree with two commenters below, not only are the colors NOT red-white-and blue, but they are ugly! The grey jackets look like prison jackets! The other colors are absurd. USOC, get on the stick here….your taste in clothes sucks! The opening ceremony outfits were ridiculous too! Berets? really? LeBron didn’t look so great in a beret….

I can understand the reason why people are a little upset about the US colors not being represented, but maybe they are trying to get people to focus on the people who won as opposed to what they are wearing. They have some representation but not as much as they should, I agree, but the people wearing the clothes are what everyone should focus on. They are amazing athletes and their talents not their clothes should be recognized.

I personally think the new uniforms are great because they look like the army pt uniforms all the soldiers wear in the United States Army when doing physical training. I don’t expect all you civilians to understand but to a soldier like me there’s nothing more patriotic than a US olympian looking like a soldier ready for intense physical training